‘Sherlock Holmes’ review

Even from the beginning this looks to be rigged with all the right stuff, complete with the acting talents of Robert Downey Jr as the illusive Holmes, cleverly reinvented by the creative direction of Guy Ritchie. Not forgetting the beguiling Rachel McAdams and her Hollywood killer smile.

From the moment Downey opens his mouth to deliver his first line of script, I was immediately excited at the prospect of not just how good this movie alone could be, but how a new franchise series can take form. This is perhaps an overly ambitious notion as it relies heavily on my faith in Downey’s ability. This impressive performance was consistent throughout and made me question his true nationality as an American, seen as his English accent and subtle tones were rehearsed to perfection.

It was a joy and a pleasure to watch him disappear into his role and enrich a character as the lovable and endearingly flawed genius. I was taken aback by the richness of the script and the rhythmic flow of dialogue, which keeps us engrossed when we are not being stunned by action scenes that often use slow motion to better enhance and intensify the sequences. As the slow motion is used sparingly in the hands of such talented creators, the action is fresh and often relevant to giving an insight into Holmes’ thought process during these moments. As a result of this direction, one particular fight scene for me emerged as one of the best movie scenes I have ever had the pleasure of viewing.

The streets and the set of Victorian London deserve credit here, as it is heavily responsible for the feel and atmosphere of Sherlock’s world, solidifying Richie’s right to go all out on re-creating such a famous series.

Some have criticised the movie for moving away from Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle’s original work particularly in the area of Holmes’ participation in combat. This happened to be one of my favourite elements due to Holmes’ intellectual approach. This reviewer has no complaints to make on this aspect of  the movie.

A golden globe has already been awarded to Downey Jr for his performance, with prospects for another award at the Oscars. Not that these prestigious awards define a true actor necessarily, but while the film does not rest purely on his shoulders, he is what makes it something special. He’s the future, Watson.

8.5/10

‘Avatar’ review

Every once in a while, you find a movie that leaves you gazing at the screen open mouthed and speechless when the credits roll and your friend turns to you and says “So what do you think?”

To say I was blown away is an understatement because that makes Avatar sound like it relies on special effects and impressive visuals. This impacted me on an emotional level and moved me greatly after successfully engaging me with the characters, the story and Pandora itself.

Pandora is the planet where the story takes place and where lifeforms known as the Na’vi dwell. Humans being humans we travel through space set twenty years in the future to Pandora and aim to rid the Na’vi of their land to gain access to the rock beneath the ground that sells on Earth for £20mill a kilo. A disabled marine is chosen to be part of a scientist plan to live through an avatar; a genetically grown Nabi, to gain their trust. The marine finds that there is a lot more at stake than he first thought and is caught between his orders and his beliefs. As Braveheart made us hate the English, we find ourselves hating humans in their greed and desire to conquer and take what they want. Although this may sound run-of-the-mill, this is truly an empowering and magical story.

In fact, ‘magical’ is a good word to summarise this movie in my opinion. I had the luxury of IMAX 3D format and I felt enveloped into a world that seemed to live and breathe all by itself, making everything feel real and believable. Another thing that amazed me was the creation of every living thing such as the animals and the plants that seemed so authentic yet completely out of the imagination of the creators. If that wasn’t astounding enough, I found myself actually caring about the world that the Na’vi protected, and as they inspired the marine, I too felt inspired. I’ve never before been so saddened by a tree being destroyed.

So rare is this movie I just have to take my hat off and even do some kind of honorary curtsy to James Cameron for giving us something that warrants its worldwide 17 day earnings of $1 billion dollars. Some people have said that is was a little tacky and predictable. I strongly disagree with tacky and perhaps I was so stunned by the beauty of the film work that I didn’t have time to predict anything. I’m not simply won over by some clever effects and some neat explosions. In my book, Avatar is a masterpiece; Cameron’s ninth symphony.

9/10

‘Daybreakers’ review

In a twist of the vampire theme, this movie features the fanged bloodsuckers as the world dominating species with only 5% of the population still human. Blood supply is low as a result and humans are farmed. If Hannibal Lectre had a giant freezer, this is how his victims would look. Every job that humans do including coffee servers and televised newsreaders are now taken up by vampires, with the vampire military on constant lookout for the remainder of the human race.

This futuristic setting based on ten years following an outbreak that began in 2009 is an imaginable idea when given such an impressive set, atmosphere and attention to detail. The problem with the setting and every other element of the movie is that they are all much better in the first half. In the first twenty minutes I thought this could be something truly special, but the second half lags, over focuses on the inhumane farming element and slowly reveals itself to be less original than we first thought.

This movie is not for the squeamish. There’s enough blood here to make Blade look like a family picnic. Severed heads, ripped limbs and exploding corpses; it’s all here. Although you become desensitised to a degree, the creators have done a good job of making us jump and shocking us with timely surprises. Many of the audience found certain scenes quite funny which I doubt was what the film makers were going for. Even when these aspects worked quite well, they again worked a lot better in the first half.

Daybreakers is enjoyable enough with its fresh take on the vampire genre. Someone said to me recently when that the creators were obviously jumping onto the Twilight bandwagon. No. People have been making vampire movies since the 50’s. It just takes something extra special to do something new and interesting. Daybreakers does not break the barrier of the extraordinary and whilst it may have some original bite, it doesn’t give enough to make its mark as a great movie.

6/10

‘Avatar’ preview – how to spend $500mill

It’s a very exciting time for movie lovers when they’re told that a film by James Cameron (none less) has created a movie that will ‘revolutionise cinema’. When you dump close to $500 million into a project, you do expect something spectacular – but then look what $200 million did with Superman Returns.

Just an update for those of you who must have actually lived on Pandora to have not heard of it; Avatar is a highly anticipated film that has been in the making for the last ten years by James Cameron who also directed Titanic – the highest grossing movie to date. It is a story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet called Pandora. Filled with exotic life forms, an avatar is created for the protagonist to blend with the species and obtain the planet’s energy sources when he finds himself torn between two worlds. Part of the reason that so much money has been spent is due to a whole investment into completely new technology that is said to radicalise the way we view film and 3D imagery.

With so much waging on the claims of its glory, people will be filling the cinemas on special previews tonight (Wed 16^th) with their 3D glasses in one hand, and if they’ve really thought it through, with an IMAX ticket in the other.

Reassuringly, Cameron’s confidence appears solid when you learn that the production budget was set at $230 million (with Murdock’s Fox company shelling 40% of this), meaning that the remaining $270 million comes from Cameron’s own wallet. Of course if it turns out to be the spellbinding CGI feast we’re all hoping for, then he’ll get so much money back he’ll be swimming in it like Scrooge McDuck.

Adding further confidence, Cameron said in an interview: “It’ll make Titanic look like a picnic”.

I think this movie in IMAX format will be so worth your extra cash and effort that it’s difficult to stress on this page. One reviewer from America named Susan Granger on the Rotten Tomatoes website wrote:

“Not since Dorothy’s Kansas farmhouse landed in Oz – 70 years ago – and the screen transformed from black-and-white to color – has there been such a magical, revelatory moment as the emergence of the planet Pandora in IMAX 3-D.”

My IMAX 3D ticket is booked for Manchester on Saturday. I will be sure to give the lowdown without spoilers. Here is a short trailer to keep us going…

Odeon .vs. Vue

A cinema is the platform for the movie. Without a good cinema, you run the risk of spoiling the experience. This review will ensure you are very clear on which cinema rules the roost in the Stoke-on-Trent area.

First up –

ODEON (see cinema page for directions)

The best thing about the Odeon is convenience. It’s close to Hanley centre and is surrounded by food and entertainment facilities such as Pizza Hut, McDonald’s and a ten pin bowling alley.

It’s more or less downhill from here though. The size of the complex is impressive, which gives no excuse as to why the paying kiosk has no cue setup or organisation, leaving these snaking cues of people cluttering up the foyer.

Cost: Pricing is always an issue in cinemas and this is no exception.

I think I need a moment to have a whine about this, seen as my blog titles these two beloved treats, for which we are being asked to pay twice the price of our admissions ticket!

£8.75 for two drinks a box of popcorn!! Unless they’re fit to scale, even for couple sharing the loot – it just isn’t worth it.

I went with my friend Matt on this occasion to see 2012, so even if we did foolishly think that we were onto a bargain, there was no way on this earth we were going to walk over to the counter and say, “one couple’s combo please”. Asking for two straws afterwards just wouldn’t have made up for it.

As for tickets, as with most cinemas – the fantastic Orange Wednesday applies. Meaning the costs are cut in half with buy-one-get-one-free from any Orange mobile (text 241).

Regular prices: Adult – £6.85

Senior – £5.20

Student – £5.50

Family (two adults two children under 15) – £5.50

They also offer an Odeon Premier Reward Card, granting you 10 points for every pound you spend. To find out more, visit Moneysavingexpert.com.

The seating: Well unless  you pay an extra £1.00 on your ticket for the ‘premier’ seats, it’s not comfortable. Not at all. In fact in comparison to the Vue, it’s quit shocking. What’s funny is that the premier seats aren’t that much different except a larger cup holder (!?).

Overview: This cinema tends to draw a lot of annoying people. For me to put it tactfully, those that are not completely un-chav like. Basically it’s a lot of teenagers because Festival Park is a ‘hanging ground’. And as Odeon do not offer 18 showings for movies less than an 18 certificate, it’s rare that you get to dodge all of those play with their phone, chat to each other, and then show blatant amusement at the disruption they’re causing.

So for this and other reasons mentioned, Odeon suffers some major knocks and gets a 3/10.

VUE

Ah the Vue. I have very little to complain about so I’ll make this quick. The only downer with Vue is the fact that it costs to park up, which is quite annoying when they should match Odeon with this. The other issue is for family tickets, as they don’t even come close to offering what the Odeon can for two adults and two children.

That aside, there’s a wealth of good points, including that there are two separate kiosks you can buy tickets, and several very user friendly electronic ticket machines. After having already cut down the hassle, if there are ques; they’re organised.

Cost: You’ll get ripped off again with refreshments as with the Odeon, but as me and my buddy Matt decided, it was still worth us investing into the Pepsi and Popcorn – and here he is sporting the merchandise.

Regular prices: Adult – £6.10

Senior – £4.60

Student – £5.50

Family (two adults two children under 15) – £18.40

Vue also do a scheme called ‘Cheap Tuesday’ where adults can get their tickets at student costs.

Seating: You can easily watch a two and a half hour movie without getting sore or uncomfortable. They also drop the seats enough that the guy with the afro in front doesn’t totally block your view. A great setup with great screens.

Overview: The Vue is accommodating, spacious, well designed and has staff that are interested in sorting you out with what you need. The car park is a slight downer, but the seating comfort and layout make up for this gripe. For extra points, the website is very easy to use and doesn’t confuse you with babble. As a company, they listen to the public and have already implemented suggestions made by them such as the over 18 viewings for movies with a lesser certificate.

For all the above, Vue earns some high praise and scores 8.5/10

The king of cinemas in the Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme area is…. VUE.

Chick-flicks that’ll make your guyliner run

You’ve all had that evening of disappointment where your guy is enjoying the chick-flick you’ve picked out as much as he likes hanging outside the dressing room in New Look. He’s already had several attempts to get Bruce Willis back in the selection before you put you use your puppy dog eyes to get your way and then he resents you for it. To avoid the conflict and allow him to enjoy the DVD, some tips:

• Try flicks with realism. NOT the Hollywood romance that couldn’t be replicated in anything less than a perfect world. If the women wake up with full make-up and kiss the guy next to her, then forget it – Hollywood has proper spooned it.

• Movies that use sentiment sparingly – not beat us over the head with it, we need it in doses.
• It has to not depress us and make us feel like we need a beer to feel better about life.

So here’s three movies that we masculine men will either secretly or openly actually enjoy.

Dan in Real Life

Dan is a middle aged widower with three young daughters who writes a life advice column for a paper. The loveable protagonist finds himself challenged by his own advice when a woman named Annie coasts into his life in this beautifully fated story. The script, the acting and the rich characters make each minute of film a delight to watch. His three daughters very nearly steal the show, with enough relatable teenage angst to make you sympathise with Dan’s predicaments as a father.

I find Carrel funny when he’s just standing still, but there are moments of comedy genius in this movie. And while there are few laugh out loud moments, the subtle and well timed casual humour make you smile throughout, leaving you on a high that you will be sure to reflect on afterwards.

Steve Carrel may be typecast as a purely comical actor. This little film just snuck below the radar of the public sphere and denied many of us the pleasure of Steve Carrel’s most impressive and layered role yet. It’s that underdog that just didn’t quite get the success it deserved and should please the most hard-heartened of males.

Checklist: Realism? – absolutely        Emotion? – in prefect doses.        Depressing? – Not at all,  but moving

The Notebook

Even by its cover, The Notebook doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is; an intense and empowering love story. The characters Noah and Elly played by Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams display some of the most realistic and actually quite beautiful on-screen chemistry to date. The reason it works is because, true to life, nothing is perfect. The complications and character flaws that ruin relationships are all here, showing that if you really want someone, you fight for them right where you stand. There are certain scenes that captivate your entire attention and basically, you become putty in the hands of the director. The direction, screenplay, script and ultimately the acting is second to none. The phrase has been used as to whether a guy has been ‘notebooked’ by his girl. Let her. It’s worth seeing past the sterotype of a love drama to witness the best romance since Juliet shouted from the balcony.

Checklist: Realism? – right up there, yes.        Emotion? – heavy but the good kind.        Depressing? – No, but you’ll cry

The Holiday

This feels like a strange choice, but I really wanted a Christmas movie in here. And while this movie fails to tick the realism box, it’s designed for comfort and ease. If you’re not feeling like being overly emotional, The Holiday plays that happy medium of an enjoyable but light romantic comedy.

The story is of four people whose lives cross over in a random sequence of events, allowing fate to offer them something unexpected and new over Christmas. Jack Black is a welcome asset to the cast who helps ground the movie seen as everyone else looks like they’re fresh off a catwalk. There are plenty of funny moments and the occasional moment where you may find a tear in your eye.

We’ll forgive its predictable ending, everyone loves a happy ending at Christmas.

Checklist: Realism? – uhhhh, no, but it works.        Emotion? – the light and enjoyable type.        Depressing? – in no way, shape or form

Actor spotlight – Nicky Cage

..as Castor Troy

The man’s movies tend to be either total pap or a slice of genius (…okay, maybe a little strong, but they’re bloody good!).  I would call myself a fan of his, but then I reflect on Bangkok Dangerous, The Weather Man and National Treasure. Even Ghost Rider was pretty bad. But then you’ve got The Rock, Family Man, It Could Happen to You (even though I’ve never met a soul who liked it) and the unforgettable switching role of Castor Troy in Face-off. I still think he’s a dude. But here’s his best and worst from my humble perspective as a semi-fan.

BEST: Family Man

– A truly fantastic movie about a man who is offered the chance to see what his life would look like if he chose the love of his life 10 years ago over his all-important ego-inspired career. Nick is on absolute form, enhancing every comedy moment and gripping the audience with the sentiment that is so well scripted and delivered that nothing comes off as corny. The producers made it feel real and grounded in a somewhat far stretched movie plot.

WORST: Bangkok Dangerous

– Never before have I wanted to leave a cinema half way through a movie through fear that if I stayed, I may lose my love of movies forever. Either that or I would have tried to drown myself in my Pepsi.

I love assassin movies, I dig the setting of Bangkok and I’m a Cage fan – what went wrong? Well… everything!! It actually depressed me that I would never get that hour and a half of my life back. At one stage, you see Cage eyeing two gunmen, then the camera swings away to a wall where you hear (not see) two gun shots, at which point the camera swings back to show the two men dead on the floor. Or we presume they’re dead – they may have fallen unconscious from sheer boredom. The only interesting thing about this movie is that Nicolas Cage’s career itself wasn’t assassinated at point blank range as a result.

CONCLUSION:

So to summarise… With a career full of highs and lows, it’s fair to say he’s made some daft decisions for roles. But with the right director, script and production team, Cage has the ability to take us by storm and if nothing else has left his mark of making a character almost as famous as the movie he arrived in… Castor Troy. We know you’re capable of magic Nicky… we’ve seen it.

‘New Moon’ review (book to movie)

Now here’s some hype.

New Moon is the sequel to the hit movie and book adaptation series opener; Twilight. If you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of years and never heard of this phenomenon, there are a thousand screaming fans around every corner waiting to tell you why you should love it.

Some of these crazy fans, needless to say, leaked into the Odeon cinema at Festival Park this Orange Wednesday and made their presence well known. I can’t stand people talking during movies and I think it ridiculous when people applaud when the curtains draw back for the film to begin. But to my surprise, it actually created a somewhat more exciting and enthralling atmosphere. That said, ten minutes in I was telling people to shut up.

I’ve been to some landmark movies on release day with huge fan bases and an established franchise. Yet I’ve never seen such a buzz of anticipation from an audience, some of whom you could tell had seen it more than once. This ranged from teenage girls to old folks – the bad critic reviews seem to have put no-one off.

Robert Pattinson, playing the best-looking vampire ever transposed to film as the protagonist’s one true love despite technically being his food, caused a few hundred simultaneous sighs at the moment he came on-screen. His slow motion ten second walk across the car park milked this for everything it’s worth.

Perhaps causing more reactions still were moments when Jacob Black, our bad-but-good werewolf takes off his shirt. And believe me, he finds plenty of reasons to do this, including extended rain scenes where the cinema began to feel like a lust fest. It was like the male equivalent of Baywatch.

The movie itself I actually thought was really good. I’ve read the books and although the novelty that the first book brought has since faded, I actually quite like the series. The new improved bigger budget off the back of the success of the first film has provided a better platform to work with, and the difference is hugely noticable.

Is the film better than the book, or the book better than the film? Actually, they need eachother.

The book covers the relationships and Bella’s emotional hell trip in such detail that the film could not cover, and makes sense to an otherwise odd script for the characters in the film. Don’t get me wrong, the film is enjoyable without the book, but the book excels the experience greatly.

The movie adds so much to the book for a couple of reasons. The first is Taylor Lautner who plays Jacob, who in my opinion, is the best and most effective actor of the films so far. The second is the wolf transformation and fight scenes, which, despite odd lighting issues here and there, were quite outstanding. Edward’s fight scene with the Volturi was also quite remarkable, and a welcome surprise.

My hat goes off to Lautner though, who’s muscular size and tone is an achievement not to be snuffed at, and is only a testimony to his acting commitment.

Edward disappears for much of the film, leaving Bella and Jacob with more screen time. As likable as Pattinson is, Lautner steals the show here with a far superior performance, even with a script that was slightly lacking.

How has this series seemed to appeal to so many? I suppose it has combined elements of what both men and women are looking for. It contains an underlying love story but uses horror based characters in a dark world that gives the relationships something new and appealing.

You can’t have these thriller elements in a love story and you can’t have love elements in a thriller. Here is where The Twilight Saga finds it’s place.

7.5/10

‘A Christmas Carol’ (3D) review

I hear what you’re thinking. It’s November. Surely this would have been more appropriate at least in middle of December as we’re beginning to feel more Christmassy. If you weren’t thinking that, I apologise.

For whatever reason, it was released 4th November in cinemas everywhere.

It dawned upon me about twenty minutes in that I actually knew this story inside out. Although the 3D visual effects and Carrey’s performance were excelling the tale beyond what we’ve known before, it was still just A Christmas Carol. Movies and theatre productions have done it to death and even the 3D aspect with flight simulation, swooping camera angles and fast paced animation didn’t deter from the fact that Scrooge’s story is nothing new.

I love watching the old movies of Scrooge at Christmas. Not because I particularly like the story, but because it’s been a tradition that has been so cemented from childhood that Christmas wouldn’t be the same without it. This is why I think the same old story re-told with new animation isn’t really what people are after.

However, Jim Carrey, as I’ve come to expect from however he chooses to lend his talent, was superb. The occasional blip in his career where he has been a little OTT does not repeat itself in this movie, especially as a lot of scenes rely on extended moments of silence and thus creating a tense and spooky feel. On the note of spooky, if I was a kid watching this I would have flipped out by the time Jacob Marley ‘s ghost appeared and dislocated his jaw from prolonged tormented screaming.

In closing, I enjoyed the movie mainly for the 3D effects and the impressive animation. But considering these elements are the reason the cinema ticket is bumped up a notch in price, I would consider giving this one a miss unless you’re really in the festive spirit a little early this year. Humbug.

‘This Is It’ review

A collaboration of Michael Jacksons’ This Is It rehearsals that have never been seen before and ‘only at cinema’s’ for a two week period.

Regardless of my scepticism that if Sony paid $60million for the rights that they will surely haphazardly ‘decide’ to release it on DVD at some stage, the fact is that I paid £5.50 to see a documentary that would have given me the same insight and reward from watching it on the monitor I am using to type this review.

The commercial aspect of this movie concerned me from the beginning. While they call it a final tribute for the fans, it seems that the big guys at Sony are just cashing in on distraught fans that were desperate to see the real show.

I’m not sure MJ would have liked us to have seen the rehearsals. The reason being that his heart wasn’t in it; he was saving himself and preserving his energy. And it showed.

He put very little into his moves compared to his usual high energy and explosiveness when he came to perform. When the brilliant Billie Jean came to be rehearsed, as a fan I received the biggest disappointment of all.

There was no trilby. No glove. No moonwalk.

The actual performance from him wasn’t there. At the end of his song after displaying a few very cool and expected dance moves, he added to the sound technicians: “that’s just giving you an idea”. Although disappointing for these reasons, it’s exactly what you’d expect from a rehearsal.

On the plus side, the gentle and loving character of Michael Jackson could be seen throughout the footage. For those unfamiliar with the man who has stirred much controversy with his court cases and strange behaviour, you see a side to him that if anything, makes you all the more sad to have lost the true musical genius that he was.

4/10